


Something There

by Briar_Rose7



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9981425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briar_Rose7/pseuds/Briar_Rose7
Summary: After 28 years of repetitiveness, the little town of Storybrooke was undergoing a huge amount of changes in an incredibly short amount of time. Most - if not all - of them were due to the fact that Emma Swan had finally broken the Dark Curse, thus making all of Storybrooke’s citizens remember their true identity.Not many of these changes, however, caused as much turmoil as the news that Rumplestiltskin, the feared Dark One, was actuallydatingsomeone.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've thought of writing a fic like this for a long time. I've always wanted to see more about the town realizing that the Dark One had a lover, and I think the Rumbelle relationship in 2A deserved way more attention than it got. That's what fanfics are for, aren't they?  
> As always, thanks to my wonderful beta [ stillsearching47 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/stillsearching47/pseuds/stillsearching47).

After 28 years of repetitiveness, the little town of Storybrooke was undergoing a huge amount of changes in an incredibly short amount of time. Most - if not all - of them were due to the fact that Emma Swan had finally broken the Dark Curse, thus making all of Storybrooke’s citizens remember their true identity.

Not many of these changes, however, caused as much turmoil as the news that Rumplestiltskin, the feared Dark One, was actually _dating_ someone.

Rumors about a beautiful girl living with the town monster started spreading pretty soon after the curse broke, and obviously everyone started adding their own lurid assumptions to the story. According to some, the girl had been bewitched by the imp. Others were ready to swear that she was staying with him to fulfill her end of a deal. The only thing everyone agreed about was that such a girl could have never been with Rumplestiltskin willingly, and many shivered at the thought of what horrible and obscene things that monster was surely doing to her. Despite all of this, no one had the courage to do more than talk behind Rumplestiltskin’s back. Even if they were all sorry for that poor girl, no one even thought of trying to help her, not at the risk of angering the Dark One. 

Belle had noticed that people stared at her and Rumplestiltskin whenever they were together, but she’d chosen to ignore them. She was sorry that all those people couldn’t see what she saw in Rumple, but she also knew that he had done plenty to deserve his dark reputation. She had faith, however, that in time the citizens of Storybrooke would realize that he had changed. She hoped that one day Rumplestiltskin would be able to actually make friends with someone in town; as much as he claimed to be a beast, she’d seen just how much he longed for closeness and affection.

In the meantime, she would help people see the truth by showing them just how happy she was with Rumple, even though she wasn’t sure of _what_ exactly they were now. After her misadventure in the mines and their encounter in the library, they’d been sort of tiptoeing around each other. They’d talked a bit on the phone and even met a couple of times, but both meetings had been rather brief, just a handful of minutes spent talking over a cup of tea in the back room of his shop. 

She loved spending time with him, but there was a sort of awkwardness there, and she didn’t know how to deal with it. She had no experience in relationships and, she suspected, he wasn’t much more prepared for this than she was. In her books, love was only made of bliss and happy endings; no one had taught her how to deal with the uncertainty she felt now.

When she’d woken up from the curse, she’d thrown herself into their romance without a second thought, immediately moving in with Rumplestiltskin. Her impulsiveness, _their_ impulsiveness, had only created more and more tension between them, as it gradually became clear that they weren’t ready to live together yet. Now that they’d taken a step back, and she had settled in the apartment over the library, they could start over, this time taking one tiny step at a time. Now she finally felt ready to invite him to Granny’s to eat that hamburger they had talked about. She was pretty sure in this world they would call it a _date_.

She felt overly nervous as she dialed his number on her… _telephone._ That was the device’s name, right? Rumplestiltskin picked up almost immediately, as he always did. 

“Belle,” he said.

The way he spoke her name always made her feel a little lightheaded. It was like he was caressing the sound, as gently and as lovingly as he’d caressed her on the few nights they’d spent together. Those memories still made her blush furiously. 

“Hey, Rumple,” she answered a little breathlessly. It was probably silly of her to be so anxious about a phone call and a date, but she couldn’t help it.

“Are you alright? You sound… strange,” Rumplestiltskin noticed. He always noticed everything about her. 

“No, I mean, yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking… We haven’t had that hamburger yet, and I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me at Granny’s. Today,” she breathed out eventually. Why did it have to be so awkward? She was just asking him to have lunch with her, after all. 

“Of course, Belle. I’d love that,” he answered immediately. Judging by his tone of voice, he’d probably been waiting anxiously for this moment. 

They settled on the time for the date, then chatted for a while about Belle’s plan to re-open the library. When she eventually hung up, she was already ransacking her (rather small) closet, desperately trying to choose the right dress.

“You look stunning, Belle,” he told her smiling when they met in front of Granny’s. She beamed at him, happy that the time she’d taken to pick out her outfit had not been wasted. 

The diner was packed, but they managed to find an empty booth. The amount of customers meant that it took Ruby a long time even to come and take their orders. Belle normally wouldn’t have minded, but she was still nervous about this date, and to keep herself busy during the wait she ended up drinking much more tea than she had intended. As a result, she needed to excuse herself to the bathroom before the hamburgers had even arrived.

“I’m sorry, Rumple, it will only take me a minute,” she said, standing up and disappearing to the back of the diner. 

Rumplestiltskin watched her walk away and sighed, desperately trying to calm down. This date wasn’t going well; they were both too nervous, and he should definitely stop fidgeting with his fork like a four year old, but he really couldn’t help it. 

He could feel people glaring at him, whispering behind his back. He had noticed how his entrance had caused the diner to go silent for a moment, but after that everyone had been obviously buzzing about the feared Dark One being out on a _date_. He normally didn’t care about what people thought of him, except this time he was pretty sure he would agree with most of what they were saying. Belle was too beautiful, too young, and way too good for him. He didn’t deserve her and he couldn’t, for all his wisdom, understand why she still stuck with him.

The arrival of a waitress with their hamburgers brought him out of reverie. How much time had passed since Belle had gone to the toilet? He was sure it had already been minutes, and he could feel himself growing even more nervous. What if she’d left? Maybe she had used the first excuse she could think of to get away from him, and now she was running back to her father, wondering why on earth she’d thought to give the Dark One another chance. 

_No_ , he told himself firmly. _She’d never do that_. Belle had shown time and time again that she wasn’t afraid to confront him. Had she wanted to leave, she would have told him that much, while also elegantly telling him to go get his shit together. That was what she’d always done. 

There was no denying, however, that she’d been gone for too long now. He needed to know what was going on, so he got up, telling himself that she was probably in the queue for the toilet and he would make a fool out of himself. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. As he entered the back of the diner he could immediately feel that something was wrong. There was a commotion in front of the toilets, and he felt his heart stop in his chest. Ruby appeared amidst the small crowd gathered there, and she sighed in relief when she saw him.

“Good, you’re already here, I was about to come and fetch you,” she said. 

“What’s going on here?” he asked, grateful that his voice didn’t betray just how much he was panicking. 

“It’s Belle, she’s…” before the wolf girl could even finish her sentence, Rumplestiltskin was already sprinting past her, pushing through the small crowd, oblivious to anything but the fact that Belle was obviously in danger. 

“Belle!” he called to her, almost beside himself with worry.

“Rumple!” came her response. Her voice, broken with tears, was coming from behind the toilet door. She tried to say something more, but it was hard to understand her in between sobs. 

Rumplestiltskin instinctively tried to pry the door open, and when he realized he couldn’t do it, he simply waved his hand to open it with magic. He had a brief glimpse of Belle’s tear-stricken face, then she all but threw herself at him, burying her face against his neck. 

“I’m _so_ stupid!” she cried out, before breaking into tears again. 

Rumplestiltskin wrapped his arms around her shaking body, still not sure of what exactly had happened. All that mattered was that now she was safe and sound with him. 

“The toilet’s lock broke and she found herself trapped inside,” Ruby explained, sensing his confusion. “I don’t know how long it took before someone noticed and called me. I tried to open it, but I couldn’t, and I was about to call you when you arrived here.”

“I’m sorry, Rumple,” Belle hiccuped against his neck. “I know it’s stupid, but when I realized I was trapped I felt like I couldn’t breathe anymore.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know. You have nothing to blame yourself for,” he murmured against her hair. 

She was trembling, so he took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. She whimpered when the movement caused him to pull away from her, but a moment later he was once again wrapping his arms around her, his jacket keeping her warm and enveloping her in his scent, and she finally started to relax.

Belle was still quietly sobbing against his shoulders, so she couldn’t notice just how many people were now staring at them, but Rumplestiltskin did. As he murmured soothing words in her ear, he looked up and realized that a small crowd was currently gathered at the toilets’ entrance, looking at him like he’d suddenly grown a second head. He could almost see the thoughts forming in their heads; he was pretty sure none of them could have ever imagined, not even in their wildest dreams, that one day they’d see the Dark One comforting a crying girl in a bathroom.

Rumplestiltskin honestly didn’t care about people’s opinion of him, but he was so unused to the lack of hostility in their expressions that for a moment he didn’t know how to react. Sure enough, most of them were looking at him with skepticism and curiosity, like they couldn’t possibly understand what was going on, and were trying to figure out how exactly he was taking advantage of this poor girl. Ruby, however, flashed him a lopsided smile, and that was _definitely_ something he wasn’t used to.

All the same, he didn’t have time to dwell on the town’s opinion of him. Belle was still crying on his shoulder, and he needed to take her home, where she could calm down without people staring at her. He handed Ruby a few bills to pay for their uneaten hamburgers, then moved towards the exit, gently dragging Belle along with him as the small crowd in front of the toilet parted to let him through. A simple display of affection certainly wasn’t anywhere near enough to chase away years of fear and deference. 

Belle didn’t say anything during the brief walk home, but she leaned as close to him as possible as they walked arm in arm, her hand holding so tightly onto him that it was bordering on painful. 

When they reached the library, he took the keys from her trembling hand, and it was only when he was opening her apartment’s door that he realized he’d never seen the place before, at least not since Belle had started living in it. It was small, but she’d already made it a cozy and welcoming place. He guided her to sit on the couch, then went to the kitchen, hoping that Belle had some camomille tea.

“In the second cupboard left from the fridge,” she said, speaking for the first time since they’d left the diner.

“Sorry?” he asked her, not sure how she could know what he was looking for.

“You’re looking for the tea, aren’t you? It’s in the second cupboard left from the fridge,” she repeated. 

He peeked out of the kitchen to look at her.

“How did you know I was looking for the tea?”

“Rumple, making you tea was the first thing you asked me to do when I came to your castle. The first thing you offered me, when we found each other again in this world, was tea. It really wasn’t hard to work out,” she replied, and Rumplestiltskin was elated to see a small smile forming on her lips. 

“Thank you, sweetheart, it will be ready in no time,” he replied, smiling fondly at her. 

He disappeared into the kitchen once again, and Belle sighed, leaning her head back on the couch. What the hell was she doing? She’d meant to take things slow, to show him and herself that she was doing fine on her own, but apparently her captivity had taken a much bigger toll on her than she’d expected. Sure, she was plagued by nightmares, but she had convinced herself that she could deal with those, even if it had been so much easier when Rumple was there to calm her down when she woke up screaming. She simply had not expected her fears to resurface in the middle of the day for such a silly thing as being stuck in a toilet. When Rumplestiltskin had opened the door, seeking refuge in his arms had come so naturally to her, like it was the only thing she could possibly do; her brain hadn’t even bothered to consider other options.

Now he was here, making tea in her apartment, and she didn’t know what to do. She was in emotional turmoil and, having him so close, she was afraid she was going to do something really stupid and screw their relationship over once again. He must think her a fragile, crazy woman now, and she hated herself for that. She had always wanted to be strong and brave, but it seemed like that was always beyond her reach, no matter how hard she tried. She didn’t want Rumple to think of her as a weak, stupid girl who couldn’t even protect herself. That’s how she saw herself in her nightmares, and how could anyone love someone so pathetic?

Rumple came back to the living room, carrying a tea tray, and his arrival stopped her train of thought.

“How are you feeling now?” he asked her, once they were both sitting on the couch with a teacup in their hands. 

“Better, I suppose,” she replied, sipping on her tea. 

“Do you want to talk about what happened in the diner?” 

“I… I really don’t know what to say. When I realized I couldn’t get out, it’s like a part of my brain blacked out. I felt like I was once again in Regina’s tower, and I screamed, but no one came. I don’t know how much time passed, but it felt like hours. I simply couldn’t think anymore; the only coherent thought in my brain was ‘ _I need to get out of here_ ’.”

Her breathing hitched as she fought back another round of tears, and Rumplestiltskin itched to hug her, to hold her close and never let go, but he didn’t know if that gesture would be welcomed. 

“I’m sorry I threw myself at you in that way,” she added. “It’s just that seeing you was like the end of a nightmare.” She took another deep breath before continuing. “When I was Regina’s prisoner I dreamed so many times of you coming for me.”

Rumplestiltskin felt his heart break at her words. If only he had been smarter and not believed Regina’s lies! Belle had been alive and suffering even while he despaired over her death, as he cried himself to exhaustion and tore his castle apart.

“I’m so sorry, Belle. You went through all of that because of me, you’re _still_ suffering now and it’s all because of me. Had I known you were alive, I swear nothing would have kept me away from you. I would have done anything, paid any price, to bring you back home.”

She flashed him a teary smile, and _gods_ how he wanted to kiss her in that moment.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he added. “I certainly didn’t mind you seeking comfort in my arms, and I never will. I would never want to see you cry, Belle, but I can only be happy if my presence brings you any comfort. I just want you to be happy, sweetheart,” he said.

He tentatively raised a hand to cup her cheek, giving her plenty of time to pull back and elude his touch, but she didn’t. She pressed her face into his hand, as new tears formed in her eyes. 

“I’m always happy when I’m with you, Rumple,” she whispered, struggling to form words as emotion clogged her throat. 

Rumplestiltskin laid his teacup on the small table next to the couch, and scooted closer to Belle. 

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to hold back the tears. If you feel the need to cry, then cry. I know how brave and strong you are, but there’s nothing wrong in needing comfort from time to time. I’d never judge you for that; I’m here for you, you don’t have to be strong if you don’t want to be.”

He knew better than most what it meant being constantly afraid and trying your best to hide it. He’d tried to be strong as a child, first to deserve his father’s love, and then again with the spinners. He’d silently cried himself to sleep so many nights after he was left alone with Bae, constantly trying to be stronger for his boy, to spare him the shameful sight of his father’s tears. Becoming the Dark One had made hiding his emotions a lot easier, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still the same coward, just covered under layers of power and magic. The curse had simply made him able to scare people more than they scared him. For him, crying in front of someone was the highest form of trust possible, and he desperately wanted Belle to know that she could always be honest about her feelings with him. 

Belle tried to say something, but she simply couldn’t find the right words. Rumplestiltskin _knew_ her, knew her fears, her doubts, and suddenly it was all too much. She broke into tears once again, pressing herself against him and hiding her face against his shoulder. For the first time in days, she finally let go of the tension, the awkwardness and the painful distance, simply losing herself in the comfort of Rumplestiltskin’s embrace. She loved him, oh, she loved him so much, and she honestly didn’t care about taking things slow right now. They couldn’t deny what they were and had been, the feelings and the connection between them. Taking a step back had probably been a good idea, but she couldn’t and wouldn’t keep this much distance from him anymore.

She didn’t know how much time she spent sobbing in Rumplestiltskin’s arms, but she cherished every moment of it. He gently stroked her back and hair the entire time, enveloping her in his warmth and scent. When her tears finally subsided she was exhausted and drowsy, and fell asleep in his arms.

It was the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen that woke her up. Rumplestiltskin flashed her an apologetic smile when he realized that she was awake, explaining that he had thought he should cook something, since they hadn’t managed to eat their hamburgers. 

Feeling finally better, Belle got up from the couch, joining him in the kitchen to help him preparing their meal. Obviously, she ended up being more of an inconvenience to him than an actual help, but in her defense she was still getting used to this world’s cooking implements, and Rumplestiltskin was always eager to help her improve her skills.

Even though she hadn’t asked him how long she’d slept, Belle was fairly sure that they were having lunch at an incredibly late hour; despite that, it was the most pleasant meal she’d had in days. Rumple’s cooking was as amazing as always, and the atmosphere between them wasn’t heavy anymore. They were both relaxed and at ease with each other, and Belle found herself laughing sincerely at Rumplestiltskin’s silly jokes. 

To Belle’s dismay, their shared lunch ended way too soon, and awkwardness creeped back into the room as Rumplestiltskin started gathering his things to leave. He didn’t want to part from her, he never wanted to, but he also didn’t want to overstay his welcome. She had asked for space, and today was probably nothing but an exception; as much as it pained him to do so, he needed to go.

He stood awkwardly on the threshold, trying to find the right way to say goodbye to the woman he loved, but all he could muster was to stammer a few words that sounded too cold even to his own ears. He turned to leave, feeling more stupid than ever, when she called his name, stopping him dead in his tracks. He turned around, and to his surprise she’d closed the distance between them, her face now only mere inches away from his.

“I love you, Rumple,” she whispered, and even though it should have already been obvious, that simple admission made both of their hearts beat furiously in their chests. 

Belle had tried so hard to find something meaningful to say, to tell him just how much his presence today had made a difference; how he was the only one who could make her feel like this, the only one that could calm her with a hug and make her knees turn to jelly with a single look. In the end, however, she’d realized that ‘ _I love you’_ was all that needed to be said, that their love meant all of those things and even more, and the fact that she’d taken a step back didn’t change any of it. 

Holding her breath, she closed the little distance left between them to press her lips against his, lightly resting her hands on his arms to balance herself and to keep him close.

Rumplestiltskin was so surprised by her initiative that, at first, he didn’t know how to respond. He went rigid in her arms, as paralyzed as he’d been when she’d hugged him for the first time, all those years ago. By the time he came out of his stupor, Belle was already pulling back, looking at him with her big blue eyes full of uncertainty. He leaned down to press his forehead against hers, his hands coming ever so slowly to rest against her waist.

“I love you too, Belle,” he whispered, and her whole face lit up with the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. He smiled back, and for a few moments everything was perfect. There was only the two of them, in their little bubble of happiness. 

When they eventually parted, Belle watched Rumplestiltskin go with a smile. For the first time in days, she felt truly hopeful. She knew they were going to be fine. 

  



End file.
